Some current owners of Sony's next-generation console have been looking back and forth for a restock of the PS5, but it turns out that the so-called new PS5 is essentially the same as the launch model. If you already own a PS5, there is no need to upgrade.

Hopefully, this latest revelation will put an end to one of the more bizarre gaming sagas of 2021. In case you didn't know, Sony announced a new PS5 model in August. It looks the same as the launch console, but includes some under-the-hood tweaks, including a smaller heat sink, which was initially a concern.

YouTuber Austin Evans' video claimed that the new PS5 was actually worse than the original due to the redesigned heatsink being less effective at cooling the interior. This claim has since been refuted, and the new PS5 was reported to actually run cooler than the launch model. This, of course, caused serious confusion among those who wanted a PS5 as to which model to look for.

Now, the good folks at Digital Foundry, in conjunction with Gamers Nexus, have done a complete teardown of the new PS5 and found that "from every practical standpoint, there is no meaningful difference between the old and new PS5."

Sony changed the heatsink on the new PS5 and made very minor adjustments to the motherboard and baseplate, but these changes make no intrinsic difference to the overall performance or play experience of the console. Furthermore, both PS5 consoles are designed to automatically shut down when critical temperatures are reached, so there is no risk of bricking due to overheating.

DigitalFoundry concluded their study by stating, "The core question of whether the new PS5 is better or worse than the launch model can be answered by saying that in terms of end user experience, they are pretty much the same. So it seems that PlayStation enthusiasts have been fussing over nothing for the past few weeks.

Note that this discussion was not prompted by Sony. Minor hardware changes are common with game consoles, and the new PS5 is intentionally identical to the previous model in both appearance and packaging. The only way to tell the difference is by looking at the specific model number of the console.

In the future, Sony may release an officially marketed revision of the console in the form of the PS5 Slim or PS5 Pro, but minor hardware tweaks are unlikely to be scrutinized to this degree. It seems a waste of time to specifically seek out either model.

Of course, finding stock of either PS5 model is still a fairly difficult task, even nearly a year after the console's release. If you're hoping to get your hands on one before the holiday season, bookmark our PS5 restocking hub for the latest news and updates.